Crisis Effect
by ShadowFuse
Summary: The galaxy played with forces beyond their comprehension, the Human race were now refugees, fleeing from what was certain extinction. Council space might be Humanity's only hope of survival. AU
1. Leap of Faith

**An idea I had when playing Stellaris, what if the universes of Mass Effect and Stellaris collided? How would that go down? So naturally, I wrote this.**

 **Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Earth, the crown jewel of humanity. A beacon of beauty, something all men and women were proud of. It was the first home for humanity before they conquered the stars themselves… and it would be the last.

Grand Admiral Victor Caldwell gazed upon the home world of his people with great trepidation.

From the bridge of his Battleship, he could see the various fleets orbiting Earth, all carrying out their orders of evacuation.

It pained him to give a planet wide evacuation order, but it had to be done. There were protests, but they soon died down. Humanity as a whole fell silent, they knew what was coming and why they had to leave.

Victor stepped away from the display showing Earth and sat in the captain's seat, he cupped his head in his hands. He _hated_ this, he never wanted to be the Grand Admiral of humanity's fleets. But the last Grand Admiral perished in the largest battle the galaxy had ever seen. Grand Admiral John Holloway, a seasoned veteran of war. Bringing together the largest fleet ever seen in human history, consisting of tens of thousands of war ships from across the empire, old and new. John's fleet was bolstered with huge fleets from their allies in the Federation, three different races joined John's fleet and he found himself in charge of the biggest fleet in the known galaxy. Hundreds of thousands of ships followed John's directive.

The monstrous fleet cut a path straight into the heart of enemy territory. The goal was simple, every ship would utilise the Jump Drive technology, a faster than light drive that allowed for instant jumps across space, no matter the distance. The fleet was to jump into the home system for the extra-dimensional invaders, the Unbidden, and destroy the portal that brought the invaders to their galaxy.

And the enemy was waiting for them, sensors and reports recorded at _least_ a _million_ Unbidden ships. and more constantly pouring out of the portal. A fight for the fate of the galaxy, a fight that was lost. John Holloway's capital ship, a Titan class warship, _Light of Sol,_ a monstrous vessel twenty-five kilometers long, was destroyed halfway through the fight. The greatest ship to ever grace humanity's navy, gone. A crippling blow to their military might, and to the fight raging around the portal.

With John's death, Victor assumed the mantle of Grand Admiral. Majority of the navy had been obliterated in the battle for the portal. Logistics showed Victor that the navy had lost over eighty percent of their naval power. Humanity was no longer an empire that spanned the galaxy, they simply didn't have the ships to maintain control of their systems, the Unbidden steamed rolled hundreds of systems, completely unprotected and at their mercy. The empire had fallen apart, even more so when he'd tried to launch offensive operations to retake critical systems containing resources humanity _desperately_ needed.

Those fights were costly, too costly. The navy had just two percent of their original naval might left. Three thousand, two hundred and fifty-six ships were all that remained after. Humanity in its prime had over one hundred and seventy thousand ships, now its military power was a pathetic shadow of its former self.

Though that was better than what others had. Victor knew that the only reason humanity was still standing was because they had two alien ally empires in between them and the Unbidden. Those empires were annihilated first, giving mankind time to breathe and organise whatever naval assets they had left at their disposal. Shipyards went into overdrive, pumping out as many ships as they could to make up for the losses.

But it was a fool's effort, Earth had time to make just _three_ more Battleship class war vessels, powerful behemoths that were ten kilometers long, equipped with the most advanced weaponry in humanity's arsenal. All other shipyards were to commission Corvettes, they were quick, cheap and fast to produce. But Corvettes were small vessels, five hundred meters in length and just didn't have the capacity to carry the deadliest weapons that humanity had. Then came the issue of finding people to man the Corvettes. Conscription was enforced, and thousands were pressed into service from the inner colonies, undergoing rapid training so that the few hundred Corvettes that were pumped out could effectively enter service.

Once the Corvettes were operational, the Unbidden found the inner colonies, there were barely any survivors. Humanity's survival was on the line. Earth was really all they had left. Any other planets were abandoned in favour of retreating to the safest place left in human controlled space. Now Victor had the responsibility of ensuring the survival of the human race, even at the cost of Earth.

"Grand Admiral." The voice of his Lieutenant and communications officer brought him out his brooding. A young woman named Emma, only twenty years old. The officers of the navy were getting younger as Victor and the remaining governing body of the United Nations of Earth were desperate for people to join the navy. The youngest officer currently serving on the bridge of a ship within the UNE navy was just seventeen!

"Go ahead, Emma," The young women nodded.

"Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the research vessel _UNE Northwind_ , priority level one."

He nearly jumped from his seat at that. This could very well be a matter of life and death for humanity.

"Patch them through!" He said.

On the bridge, a middle-aged woman appeared on the screen, she had bags under eyes and her hair was a right mess, it was clear that she got zero sleep. Though she physically looked horrible, her blue eyes were more alive than ever. She bore a smile on her face, something rarely seen in these trying times.

"Dr Starling, please tell me you've got some good news?" he said.

She nodded with great enthusiasm, "Yes, Grand Admiral. I'm pleased to report that my team and I have done it." She said, positively glowing with excitement.

His eyes went as wide as saucers. "Amanda, do you mean..."

She nodded, "We've cracked it, the unknown object, dubbed 'Tuning Fork', is active. After months of study, we finally got it going. It is as we suspected, a gateway to another galaxy!"

Never in all his two hundred and two years of life had he heard such incredible news.

Large, abandoned constructs were rare but they were present throughout the galaxy, remnants of a lost civilisation. Wormholes that allowed for near instantaneous travel across the galaxy. Activating and maintaining these ancient machines took a vast amount of resources but the benefits of near instant travel across space far outweighed the negatives. The military advantages it gave were astronomical.

However, no such object had ever been found that could transport a fleet to another galaxy altogether. That was until the 'Tuning Fork' was found. Initial research efforts suggested that the Tuning Fork could launch ships thousands of light years instantly, however the data pulled was incomplete, though within the data, a plausible theory emerged. The Tuning Fork could possibly launch a fleet across galaxies. Then the Unbidden arrived, research into the Tuning Fork doubled, then tripled. Soon Amanda Starling, the head of Physics research branch throughout human space was working on unraveling the mysteries of the object. Engineering lent as many scientists as they could, while also working on technology to help them against the extra-dimensional threat.

To hear that the science vessels working on it had finally manage to get it active was a relief.

He couldn't help the beaming smile on his face, their prayers were answered, salvation for the human race.

"We also detected an Othari vessel in system when we managed to activate the Tuning Fork, Grand Admiral."

The smile disappeared. The Othari were the race that created Jump Drive and shared the technology throughout the galactic community. It was also the Othari that figured out that their own invention had created a 'crack' in the fabric of space itself with its constant use throughout the galaxy, bringing the Unbidden to their doorstep.

They ripped the Jump Drive out of their ships after learning of what their creation had wrought. They demanded all races do the same, but the damage was done, and the benefits of the Jump Drive couldn't be just be thrown away. Humanity refused to give it up, the Jump Drive was the same drive that the Unbidden had on their ships, it levelled the playing field in that regard.

Getting rid of it would give the Unbidden an advantage, and the Unbidden would still be around regardless if all the races got rid of the drive or not.

It made the fox-like race more hostile towards humanity and the other races that kept the drive.

If they knew about Tuning Fork and what it could do, they'd jump on the opportunity to use it. And unfortunately, they were the race that came out of the battle for the portal better than any other race. They were weak and on the verge of extinction just like humanity and the others, but they would have thousands of more ships at their disposal. They could easily capture and control the Tuning Fork.

He knew how dangerous it would be to leave the Tuning Fork active for too long, and the Othari weren't stupid, the Unbidden would surely follow them through. Whoever used the Tuning Fork first would surely destroy it behind them, to prevent the Unbidden from giving chase. It was what he would do, the dangers of trying to contact and get every race still clinging onto life to come through the Tuning Fork was too great. The Unbidden moved quickly, their ships slaughtered everything in their path.

Humanity needed to mobilise and move out now, they needed to beat the Othari to the gateway. If there was a slim chance that both races arrived at the same time, perhaps they could both escape, if they were willing to play ball. But the gate would have to be destroyed after being used, it was the only way to ensure their survival.

"Alright, the evacuation of Earth shouldn't be any longer than three more da-"

He was cut off by the sound of alarms going off around the bridge.

"ADMIRAL! Emergency message from Admiral Steven Hackett!"

He didn't have time to respond as Hackett was patched through, the man's worn face told Victor all he needed to know.

' _No, NO! Not now!_ '

"Grand Admiral, the early detection systems have picked up an Unbidden fleet, they commenced a jump towards Sol and have arrived at the edge of the system." Hackett said, his voice grave.

Shit! The evacuations were days away from completion. The navy couldn't hold off an entire fleet of Unbidden ships, they would be slaughtered.

He gazed out to look upon the crown jewel of humanity one last time, he couldn't stand the thought of it being desecrated by the Unbidden, but it couldn't be stopped. The enemy would consume all in their path.

His heart clenched, tears formed in his eyes as he prepared to give out the order that would seal the fate of billions.

He patched himself through to all ships within the Sol system, "This is Grand Admiral Victor Caldwell. The enemy has arrived, all ships are to retreat immediately from the system to the given coordinates." He left the order there, he couldn't bring himself to say anymore. His bridge crew had tears of their own, leaving this system was the last thing they wanted to do. Especially when there were billions of people still on the planet.

Amanda cried silently and Hackett had a defeated expression on his face.

"Amanda, prepare the Tuning Fork for our arrival," He ordered, Dr Starling nodded and ended her transmission.

"Hackett," Hackett stood ready for his orders. He was a good admiral, he would've been a much better choice for Grand Admiral than Victor. "You will take your Battleship, the _UNE_ _Killimanjaro_ and lead the fleet towards the Tuning Fork. I pass the title of Grand Admiral onto you."

"What about you, sir?" Hackett said, shocked that he was just promoted to Grand Admiral, leader of humanity itself.

Tens of thousands of objects appeared on the short-range scanners. The Unbidden were closing in. There was no way that humanity would escape in time, the losses would be devastating.

His gaze fell upon the monstrous Citadel space station orbiting Earth, those serving aboard the fortress were going to die, the only option they had left was to give the Unbidden hell. The Citadel wouldn't hold them back for long, they needed support.

Looking to his crew, he saw the faces of every crew member staring back at him with determination. They would gladly die if it meant they could help humanity live. It filled him with pride.

"We'll buy you time, now go!" He ordered, cutting off the connection. He ordered hundreds of ships to join him in slowing the enemy's advance.

The Unbidden were approaching _fast_. He felt the engines of the _UNE Salvation_ fire into action, the ship quickly moving through space to engage the enemy.

The Citadel's kinetic artillery was already shooting rounds out in the vast void of space, streaking millions of kilometers through space. the Unbidden fleet thankfully didn't possess long range weaponry, that was the only advantage they had.

"All shields to maximum! Get firing solutions for the Gauss Cannons and Gamma Lasers. Give 'em hell!" He ordered.

"Yes, Grand Admiral!" The crew shouted.

Soon the Gauss Cannons were unleashing round after round towards the Unbidden fleet. The Gamma Lasers streaked across space, the orange lasers looking for the kill.

Soon the Unbidden came into range, their almost transparent fleet open fired.

The shields were rapidly going down, the enemy was relentless in their onslaught.

Dozens of other Battleships and hundreds of fighters joined the fray, desperately trying to hold back the invaders long enough for Hackett to escape with the remaining military and civilian fleets.

"Fire the Particle Lance!" Victor roared.

The main weapon, a hellish laser with incredible firepower. The _UNE Salvation_ fired a massive red energy beam into the enemy fleet. The lance stuck multiple Unbidden ships, bringing their shields right down. The following volley of Gamma Lasers and Gauss Cannon rounds dropped the shields entirely and destroyed multiple enemy ships.

The Unbidden's advance didn't slow down. The other Battleships unleashed their own Particle Lance's upon the enemy, dropping the shields of dozens of ships unlucky enough to be clipped by the weapon. The invaders returned the favour in kind, firing their own guns. Thousands of attacks slammed into the dozens of Battleships that remained behind to slow them down.

Victor was thrown from his seat as the ship shook in protest of the enemy fire. The shields were quickly brought down, the armour being shredded like it was cheese.

Alarms blared throughout the bridge and the crew screamed as they were flung around the bridge. Time slowed as Victor took in the impossible odds before him, against an entire fleet, the Battleships were useless. All around him, the Battleships were turned to dust, the Citadel was still unloading thousands of rounds, but it was heavily damaged.

He took note of the scanners just before they went offline. The human fleet was successfully fleeing the system. Some civilian ships and other navy vessels hadn't gotten away but majority had managed to flee in time. Hundreds of ships were still trying to get off the ground on Earth, they wouldn't make it. But at least he'd managed to save as many lives as he could.

He closed his eyes as the enemy fired upon his ship once more. An explosion tore through the bridge and the _UNE Salvation_ was destroyed.

* * *

Hackett hung his head in sorrow as he saw dozens of Battleships sacrifice themselves to ensure their escape. The Unbidden swarmed the Citadel and ripped it apart like it was nothing. Their fleet rests over Earth, bombing it into oblivion. Hackett was now acting leader of humanity, Grand Admiral. He'd do everything in his power to ensure the survival of his people, to honour the sacrifices of all those that had died against the Unbidden.

"Grand Admiral," He looked at his navigation officer, "All ships are ready to jump at your command."

"Do it."

The Jump Drives flared into life and the fleet went into FTL, Earth being left behind forever.

* * *

The Jump Drive transported the fleet across space instantly, such was the advantage of the Jump Drive. A small contingent of Destroyers and Corvettes guarded the Tuning Fork and science vessels, the fleet being just over one hundred strong. It was a rather small structure, in comparison to some of the other ancient alien artifacts that could be found throughout the galaxy. Though the rotating sphere in the centre was certainly something to be in awe of. The gravitation force it gave off was insane, it shouldn't even be possible.

Hackett was thankful to see it, it was the key to mankind's continual existence.

However, that was short lived when his scanners went off.

"Grand Admiral! An Othari fleet has just entered the system, they've got a lot of ships to. I put the navy at over six thousand strong. Civilian vessels I place at four thousand."

' _How could they mobilise that quickly? Though I thought there would be more honestly._ '

He remained calm, this could go one of two ways. Both species being here at the same time meant that they could both pass through the gateway. Or a battle would break out for control over the gateway, it would be the end of them all, the Othari had them out gunned, with just over three thousand navy vessels, the Othari was twice as strong as they were. And the Othari held a grudge against them.

"How many Battleships?" Hackett said.

"I count over two hundred, Grand Admiral."

That wasn't good, they had only twenty-six Battleships left, dozens having been wiped out at Earth.

"Establish contact with them."

Within moments, on the bridge display, a humanoid fox appeared, its fur a deep red colour. It wore plated armour, a tradition of their people.

"This is Grand Admiral, Steven Hackett, Captain of United Nations of Earth vessel, _Killimanjaro_. Identify yourself."

The fox narrowed its eyes, "Steven Hackett? I was under the impression that humanity's navy was led by another," It said, voice evidently female.

"Victor Caldwell... perished in battle above Earth." Hackett said, leaving it at that.

Its gaze softened slightly at the mention of Earth.

"So, Sol is lost, another home world gone…" She mumbled, but Hackett caught it and it fell into place, the Othari were here because their home world had also been overrun, who knows how many were abandoned, left behind to the onslaught of the extra-dimensional invaders.

She straightened and raised her fist to her chest, "Lord of Ships, Tel'Selum, Captain of the Othari Union vessel, _Righteous Fury._ "

The Lord of Ships, the Othari's equivalent of the Grand Admiral.

"Well met, Tel'Selum. I pray we can work together here and avoid any unnecessary conflict." Hackett said.

Tel's eyes narrowed in anger, her ears that stood tall were now lowered aggressively, " _Work together?_ " She snarled.

"We did our part to prevent the threat of further portals being opened up, getting rid of the Jump Drive. We pleaded with you to be rid of that cursed drive and yet your species spat in our face. The Jump Drive will draw the Unbidden to us, and they would obliterate us all!"

He remained calm, understanding the anger that the Othari felt, they held themselves personally responsible for the arrival of the Unbidden, the gravest sin imaginable.

"I understand perfectly, but the Jump Drive gives us advantages that can't be passed up. Not when the Unbidden are already here. We would be at a huge disadvantage being stuck with the Hyper Drive."

She scoffed, "And what about when you pass through the gateway? Your Jump Drives would summon the Unbidden to the new galaxy."

He sighed, that was something that his predecessor thought about. Humanity would be limited in their growth and development in the new galaxy without the Jump Drive. But Tel was correct, humanity needed to return to the inferior Hyper Drive once they passed through the gateway. The danger of the Jump Drive was too great.

"We will remove the drive from our ships once we pass through. You have humanity's word."

Tel regarded him for a few moments, then grunted in approval, "Good... I suppose we can work together then. But don't believe for one second that our species are friends."

"I'll be honest here, Hackett," Tel sighed, her hostile attitude disappearing slightly, "If you weren't here, we were going to destroy the gateway behind us. The risk of the Unbidden arriving was too great. Conflict would be pointless and stupid, we would only weaken ourselves. I pray humanity has sense to see that we can both pass through the gateway?"

Inwardly, Hackett was relieved. The Othari were desperate for survival just like they were, and they were willing to play nice.

"Glad to hear it, now I think we've wasted enough time talking. Let's pass through the construct."

Tel nodded.

"Excellent idea, Grand Admiral," The voice of Dr Starling interrupted, surprising both Tel and Hackett, "The Tuning Fork is made of an incredibly tough material, nothing we can't destroy of course, I recommend a few timed warheads, should easily do the trick."

"Who is speaking?" Tel demanded.

Hackett raised his hands in a calming manner, "It is Dr Starling, head of our Physics research division. Though I am curious as to how she managed to join our call."

Dr Starling appeared on the screen beside Tel, smiling mischievously, "Your communications officer was so kind as to add me into this little chat, now onto business. Sensors show Unbidden fleets about to jump into this system, they're following you, Grand Admiral."

Hackett went white as a sheet. He quickly gave the fleet the order to approach the Tuning Fork for transportation.

Tel did the same, thousands of ships rushing towards the large alien construct, stopping just before the guard detail.

"Dr Starling, how does this device work?" Hackett said.

"Simple, move your ships next to it, the device will launch your ship to another galaxy in an instant. A Corvette went through and came back through another Tuning Fork device."

Hackett nodded and gave the order for all ships to use the device, as did Tel. Thousands of ships pressed forward, the Tuning Fork's spherical centre began to pick up speed before the glowing core shot tendrils of light that enveloped every ship that got close enough before they are simply vanished into the void of space.

The science vessels went next and then Tel's ship went through the gateway. Hackett was the last ship left.

"Prime the warheads to drop just before we enter the alien construct."

"Warhead primed for de-" Alarms blared.

A fleet of transparent ships appeared, relentless in their quest to wipe the galaxy of all life. And they appeared on top of the construct and Hackett. Their weapons fired upon the Killimanjaro _._ Its shields melting away like they weren't present.

"GET US OUT OF HERE, DETONATE THE WARHEAD NOW!" Hackett roared.

The _Killimanjaro_ punched it for the gateway, its shielding gone and the armour disintegrating rapidly. Dropping ten warheads, the Tuning Fork connected with Hackett's heavily damaged vessel and launched it through space.

The Unbidden ships rushed towards the object, the construct connected with them, about to shoot them through to another galaxy when the warheads exploded.

The relay destablised before it could launch Unbidden ships, the warheads and the supernova like energy blast from the destroyed relay decimated the entire Unbidden fleet. The explosion went on to obliterate the entire system.

* * *

The _Killimanjaro_ found that space around changed in the blink of an eye, and they appeared next to the Othari and Human fleets. Hackett groaned in pain, his ship was nearly wiped out within seconds of the Unbidden appearing, unable to handle that much firepower. It threw the crew around.

"Status report!"

"Grand Admiral, we've sustained heavy damage, armour is practically gone. Structural integrity is holding at just thirty five percent, fires are reported on all decks, we've lost majority of our systems."

"Vent empty sections of the ship to kill any fires, tell the crew to prepare for atmospheric venting." Hackett ordered.

Within in minutes, the fires had spread more and threatened the ship itself as crew scrambled to prepare for venting procedures.

Soon the ship was venting air on each deck, killing the flames, though not without a few unfortunate casualties. The ship was no longer in danger, but it was dead in the water.

Hackett saw incoming messages from the Tel and Dr Starling.

"..kett what happ… ddin?" was the message from Tel, and Dr Starling's wasn't much better.

It was clear they were both wanted answers though.

"Sir, communications have suffered considerable damage, receiving transmissions is out of the question, though we should still be able to send messages." Said his communications officer.

"Good enough, inform the Othari and the rest of the fleet what occurred." Hackett said.

Despite the state the _Killimanjaro_ was in, Hackett couldn't help the sigh of relief. Gazing back at the transportation device, he was overwhelmed by the fact that his species was _safe_. The Unbidden threat was no more.

Humanity had survived galactic extinction and could now rebuild, though they would never forget the horrors the Unbidden inflicted upon them.

Although Earth and her colonies were gone, Humanity would endure.

* * *

 **What do you think?**

 **The Council races will come into the fold soon enough.**


	2. Potential Prospects

**50 Years Later**

Kane hated wearing space suits. They were designed to not inhibit movement. Air tight, with the ability to provide up to five hours of oxygen, excelling at keeping humans alive. Though it was the principle behind it that he hated. You had to be in the worst conditions known to man to be wearing one. And if the suit somehow failed, he'd suffocate.

To be wearing the suit meant he was technically in danger of dying at any moment.

He grumbled as he put scanned some soil with computer built into the arms of the suit. He'd been scanning soil across the planets surface. One the scan finished, a stream of data on a holographic display on his wrist. He opened a communication channel to his ship.

"Sam, just finished another scan. The data should be coming through right now." He said and he uploaded the data to the ship.

" _Copy that, Kane. We've now got plenty of data now, good job_. _Pack it up and come home._ " Said a female voice with a thick Russian accent.

He sighed, relieved that he'd finally be able to leave the planet. The planet was actually perfectly suited for life, and it was beautiful. A lush green world with large oceans, akin to Earth. But that didn't mean that it was safe. The air was breathable, and the soil was rich, but was it safe? His job was scan the air, the soil and water on the planet in order to ensure there wasn't any potential pathogen, bacteria or anything that could be considered dangerous to human life.

He returned to his shuttle, a small ship about twenty metres in length. Entering inside the small airlock, the shuttle began decontamination procedures. Decontamination was always an uncomfortable process, but it was a necessary one.

A vapour of hydrogen peroxide filled the airlock, aiming to kill anything that may be trying to hitch a ride on the ship. The vapour was fine, it was the second stage that unnerved him.

Gamma rays were emitted to finish off any bacteria or organism. The suit protected against gamma rays, but if there was even the slightest opening in the suit, the gamma rays could turn into a huge problem. But it was effective at sterilisation, results were results.

He let out a sigh of relief when decontamination finished. He fired up the shuttle and quickly ascended into orbit around the planet.

He plotted a course to the _UNE Potential Prospects_ , a research vessel in orbit around a gas giant. Soon the five hundred metre long science ship came into visible range, along with the sight of an inactive Tuning Fork orbiting the planet nearby. It was a re-purposed Corvette, it still maintained long, grey bulky shape human ships were known for. He personally loved the armour plating that came out like wings on the sides of the back of the Corvette. The top of the Corvette was littered with devastating weaponry, however it couldn't hold its own in lengthy engagements, the interior was retrofitted with huge laboratories and science equipment. Ammo to fuel the kinetic artillery was limited, however the Corvette was armed with a single Gamma Laser, an extremely powerful weapon that could tear armour apart, though shields were a bit harder to get through. The laser pulled energy from the ship's Zero-Point Reactor, the best power reactor humanity ever developed. The reactor drew upon vacuum energy, a background energy that exists throughout the whole universe, providing an unlimited supply of power. The laser had an endless stream of 'ammo' so long as the reactor remained active and could power it.

The Corvette could certainly protect itself against most threats, providing enough time to retreat back to military controlled space.

He slowly brought the shuttle into the hanger bay of the Corvette. After he touched down, the ship underwent its own decontamination process. This particular hanger was always empty and only housed one shuttle, it was designed with being able to deal with contamination.

After it was completed, he stepped out in the hanger bay. Making his way out of the bay and towards the armoury. Space suits, armour, weapons, everything was stored there.

He made his way to his personal locker and changed out of his suit into his casual off duty clothes. He rather liked the classic style of clothing worn back in the 'Modern Era', the twenty first century was a time of technological revolution, the general style of clothing stuck around from that period.

He wore some black jeans, he wasn't a fan of the faded blue. And he wore a red and black flannelette button up shirt, his personal favourite article of clothing.

As he finished putting on some boots, he heard someone approach from behind. He glanced over his shoulder and saw it to be one of the science team's assistant robots, a humanoid construct with limited intelligence. It looked human, except the face, it had a single optic for an 'eye', no other feature, just smooth metal.

"Lieutenant Kane Moran, Dr Sam Chernov requires your assistance in her office." The eye glowed as it talked, its voice sounded exactly like a normal persons voice would. Robotic voices tended to cause issues in communication.

He gave a nod of acknowledgement and it went back to its duties.

He made his way through the ship towards the Sam's office which was located near the labs.

Knocking, the door slid open and he found the Russian scientist hard at work, pouring over data that flowed on a holographic screen in front of her desk, next to her was the lead scientist aboard the ship, Dr Wilson Grassman. The woman's blue eyes connected with his, and she smiled, ushering him to come in. She looked to be about thirty with lush long blonde hair, though looks lied. Humanity had long since extended their lifespan by centuries, a healthy human could live until they were three hundred and twenty on average. Immortality was the next step, though that was a slow and expensive process. He knew Sam was true age was one hundred and two, though Wilson was a different story. He was extremely young, he was twenty five years old, his appearance looked like someone just about to hit twenty. A genius in the field of science, specifically FTL science. Wilson rose up the ranks quickly. He had fine features, short, neatly trimmed hair, slight stubble and sharp brown eyes.

Kane approached, "Got what you needed from those scans?"

Sam smiled, "Indeed we did. The data indicates that the world is fantastic for colonisation. The ecosystem should easily adapt to us and vice versa. We'll just have to take it nice and slow."

Wilson pointed to a certain section of data, he was bouncing on his feet, barely able to contain his excitement.

"The planet is goldmine! According to your scans, the soil is positively saturated in the same substance that can be found in the centre of a Tuning Fork. From the scans you took across the planet alongside orbital scans, I'd wager that the planet holds thirty trillion tons of the stuff!"

His eyes widened, he was speechless.

Finding the element that powered the Tuning Forks was not uncommon, but there was barely anything in the five systems humanity had settled in so far and the dozens of outpost systems. Just bad luck of the dice. However, it seemed humanity rolled a six, and really early in their expansion too. This system not only contained a Tuning Fork to study at their heart's content, but a planet packed to the brim with the unique element that powers the FTL constructs!

"Earth had approximately forty trillion tons of uranium, enough to power civilisation for centuries before we took to the stars. With such a vast and comparable amount of this element, I can only begin to imagine the possibilities." Wilson grinned.

Wilson copied the data, "I shall contact the Council of Admirals and inform them of everything we've discovered in this system. I'm sure it will be of great interest."

And Wilson left the room.

He scanned the data that was still streaming down the holographic display. It was incredible, particularly the data behind the Tuning Fork. A fascinating device, extremely complex and advanced. How did it work? And more importantly, who built it?

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Sam said, as she also looked over the data. "Another method of faster than light travel. The most interesting method I've heard of too, simply just defies all known logic."

He raised a brow, "Why's that?"

"From what we've been able to uncover, we theorise that the device actually works in real space."

He was no scientist, but he know one thing for certain. A steadfast rule of the universe, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light in real space.

The Hyper Drive allowed humanity to travel at faster than light speeds, though it did so in a similar way to a wormhole.

Unlike Wormhole Gates, ancient alien constructs that transport ships instantly across space through a wormhole connecting to another gate, the Hyper Drive didn't fold space.

Humanity has tried many times to 'fold' space but doing so has been met with failure. Then it become unnecessary to do so once the Jump Drive was implemented across humanity's fleets, as instant travel became possible.

The Hyper Drive didn't fold space and create a portal between two different points in space, instead, it opened a tunnel in another dimension alongside the physical one and ships travelled through it. But the tunnel was just that, a tunnel, running the full distance of real space. It was like an invisible highway throughout the universe.

The Hyper Drive needed an anchor point for every tunnel it created. That exit point could only be within a gravity well, like a planet or star, etc. The Hyper Drive couldn't take someone to empty space where there was no significant gravity signature.

The Hyper Drive was one method of FTL, and the other various constructs that were located throughout their home galaxy used other, better ways, but they all followed the same rule, they didn't go faster than light in real space, it was impossible.

"That can't be right?" He said in disbelief.

Sam laughed, "I had that exact same thought when I first saw the data. But evidence suggests that real space faster than light travel is possible. I do love when physics breaks, makes things so much fun. Like the invention of the Hyper Drive, I can only imagine what that would've been like, the headaches it caused. It would've been amazing, and now I can possibly be apart of a new, groundbreaking discovery, re-writing our understanding of the universe as we know it!"

"Careful now, you're starting to sound like Wilson."

He enjoyed talking to Sam, he had been alive long enough to understand most science at the basic level. Hearing people get passionate about things and go into depth about the scientific discoveries, it was a nice change of pace. He'd been a military man all his life, joined when he was twenty years old, and so far had given one hundred and fifty years of service, and still counting.

He'd been passionate about giving his all to humanity, keen on being at the front lines, fighting every war and every battle for his people as a fighter pilot.

But after so many near death experiences that would scar him for the rest of his days, he was happy to be exploring new worlds, acting as an assistant and military guard to some scientists. He still dreamt of that nightmarish battle. It could hardly be described as such, it was a fight on a scale never seen before in galactic history. Battle of Hell's Gate, the name given to the fight where all species launched an assault on the Unbidden's portal.

He'd gone to therapy to help cope with that single battle alone, but it hardly helped. The nightmares persisted, the Unbidden from an extra-dimension destroying hundreds of thousands of vessels.

He'd been involved in a number of other skirmishes, all of them bloodbaths. Now humanity had a second chance at survival, he promptly joined the science division of the military. He'd seen enough death to last an entire species a millennium. PTSD was easy to deal with when he wasn't flying a fighter.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sam smiled.

"So, when do you think this planet will be colonised?"

"Considering the importance of Shanxi and the rest of the system, as quickly as possible."

So the planet already had a name. Shanxi, he liked the sound of it.

* * *

Tevos double checked the data that'd been sent to her omni-tool. The holographic computer on her arm showed her something intriguing, signals and huge radiation spikes in the Axavia Cluster over the course of fifty years. A section of space that was nearly impossible to reach, a deactivated relay designated 314 was theorised to access that section of space. Ever since the Rachni Wars, every race making up the Council came together to create incredibly advanced sensors that could penetrate deep into space, looking for signs of life beyond non-active relays so the Council wouldn't be caught off guard by a hostile race. The STG assured the Council that the sensors could cover most of the galaxy when they were constructed over a hundred years ago.

Normally, she'd just assume that sensors had picked up the signals or a fledgling civilisation that had just made its way out into the stars. But the energy readings from that section of space were off the charts and signals were being thrown around at faster than lights speeds. It was obviously an established civilisation, and a potentially powerful one at that. Though that still wasn't what made it so concerning.

"Are we sure that data is right?" Tevos asked her fellow councillors. The Council was made up of the three biggest races in the galaxy. Tevos, who represented the Asari Republics, humanoid creatures. Sparatus, who represented the Turian Hierarchy, avian like creatures with mandibles and finally Valern, who represented the Salarian Union, bipedal amphibians.

Valern nodded in response.

"Indeed, we are positive. The Special Tasks Group has reported that these readings suddenly developed out of nowhere in the previously empty space." Valern said.

"We aren't picking up old signals?" Sparatus asked.

Valern shook his head, "No, these readings are most certainly within the last fifty years. No other signals or readings detected that would indicate a developing civilisation. It indicates an already established space-faring race."

She didn't like the sound of that, "So we could potentially be dealing with a powerfully advanced alien race that suddenly materialised out of nowhere in the Axavia Cluster?"

"Possibly."

She paled at that. That could mean a number of things, but the most prominent thought on her mind, galactic invaders. Though that'd mean that the alien race would powerful enough to move fleets across galaxies! Had they found some way to break free of the Relay Network? The thought of doing warfare with such a race wasn't an enticing idea. If anyone had told her that something like that could happen a few decades ago, she'd have scoffed at them. Such a silly fantasy, but not anymore. There was something out there, and it wasn't meant to be there.

Sparatus obviously had the same thoughts as her, she could see the gears turning inside that concerned Turian's head.

"We must assemble the fleets, prepare for anything." He said.

Both she and Valern nodded in agreement.

"This information has been kept from the public, but that can only work for so long." Valern said.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes. But right now we need to prepare as Sparatus suggested. I propose we assemble a large exploration force to venture forth into the Axavia Cluster, to determine what exactly is happening there. And possibly prepare for first contact or a battle." She suggested.

Sparatus looked at her like she was crazy, "That would mean activating the relays!"

"Then so be it, our military will control the activation of any relays." She replied.

"If what we are fearing is true, the activation of a relay would do nothing to stop any alien hostiles. Though we stand to gain resources and forward bases." Valern chipped in.

She was thankful for Valern appealing to the Turian's military side. She prayed Valern was wrong and this race was limited by the relays.

Sparatus eventually conceded.

"Alright, we are in agreement. An expeditionary task force will be the sent through the relay in order to scout out what exactly is happening in the Axavia Cluster." Tevos said.

The private meeting came to an end. Tevos returned to her office and began contacting the Matriarchs, the Asari needed to be prepared for anything. She hoped that whatever lay beyond the relays wasn't a hostile race, the galaxy couldn't handle another huge war.

' _Please be peaceful_.'

* * *

 **Thanks to KanisRussell for looking over the chapter.**

 **Some details to specify, the Orion Arm is not named as such due to the ME races being in another galaxy and humans not being present, hence the new name in this AU. Just adds a little more to the different universes. I'll be giving a bit focus to the Stellaris side of the story, to provide explanations for their tech and so on.  
**

 **Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter, 'till next time.**


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